What Is Essential To The Heart
by schokischlecki
Summary: What is essential to the heart, is invisible to the eye! This should sum it up! If you're curious, you'll have to read! ;- OS about the important things in life...


**OS: What Is Essential To The Heart Is Invisible To The Eye**

**Disclaimer:** Twilight belongs to Frau Meyer. The rest here is mine!

Please feel free to criticize! I mean it! ;-)

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‚Ooh, he's on!' Bella thought happily, staring at the screen in front of her.

For months now she had been chatting on a daily basis with a guy named Debussy95.

His real name she did not know and until now she had never cared to know. She had simply enjoyed the anonymous banter with the unknown boy.

At least she hoped he was a boy. He'd sworn that he was but that meant little in the confines of a chatroom.

**Debussy95: hey there! whatcha doing?**

**ClaireDeLune96: chatting with a guy**

**Debussy95: should I be jealous?**

Bella thought for a moment before she typed her reply.

Trying to decide wether to keep up the light banter or to try something new.

When her brain came up blank, her eart made the decision and just as she was about to answer, another reply from the unknown boy popped up.

**Debussy95: did I bore you already?**

**ClaireDeLune96: nope**

**Debussy95: so... should I be jealous?**

**ClaireDeLune96: definitely!**

**Debussy95: why? is he someone special?**

**ClaireDeLune96: yep...**

**Debussy95: is he handsome?**

**ClaireDeLune96: I've never seen him... but he sure is beautiful on the inside...**

Bella took a deep breath. Now it was out in the open.

**Debussy95: so you like him?**

**ClaireDeLune96: a lot**

**Debussy95: but how can you like him if you never even met him?**

**ClaireDeLune96: I dunno... it just feels right**

It took the unknown boy a couple of minutes to reply and for Bella these minutes felt like hours.

**Debussy95: does this mean you'll stop chatting with me?**

**ClaireDeLune96: why would I do that?**

**Debussy95: I dunno... sounds like you found someone better to chat with...**

Could he really not have noticed? Did he really not know... ?

**ClaireDeLune96: I meant you, you moron!**

**Debussy95: Me?**

**ClaireDeLune96: yes you!**

**Debussy95: so you like me?**

Bella blushed a deep ruby red and was glad for once that the boy couldn't see her.

Did she like him? Of course!

But she had the strange feeling that this could be even more...

**ClaireDeLune96: yes.**

She simply stated, not knowing if her outburst of feelings was even welcomed by him.

His next reply made her heart jump for joy.

**Debussy95: I like you too... a lot.**

So now what exactly was she to do with this? She liked him a lot and he felt the same.

And now?

**ClaireDeLune96: so... what now?**

**Debussy95: I'd like to meet you... in person...whatcha think?**

It took Bella a moment to consider her options. If this guy was some perv - a bald, fat guy in his fourties perhaps - she could still run the moment she saw him.

She would make sure they were to meet at some public place so that wouldn't be a problem since he knew exactly nothing about her.

But what if he wasn't some perv but just some boy who had lured her in with his cute and witty comments just to 'get some'?

What if he didn't _really_ care about her?

Bella was sure that, with all her feelings already involved, it would break her heart.

On the other hand he could as well be that same person she had been chatting with for the last couple of months.

He could be the sweet, caring, smart and funny boy he seemed to be.

And there was only one way to find that out...

**ClaireDeLune96: okay.**

**Debussy95: okay? you REALLY wanna meet me?**

**ClaireDeLune96: I thought so... Why, is there something you're hiding from me?**

**Debussy95: nope... I was just surprised cause you always said you'd never agree to meet in person...**

**ClaireDeLune96: yeah... I guess I changed my mind...**

**Debussy95: so... before you change your mind again ;-) when and where would you like for us to meet?**

**ClaireDeLune96: You live in Seattle, right? I was planning on going there soon. So why don't we meet at the SpaceNeedle? Let's say... next saturday? Would that be alright for you?**

**Debussy95: that would be perfect! What time shall I be there?**

That kept Bellas head reeling again. She hadn't really planned on going to Seattle by herself but didn't want him to come anywhere near the place she lived in.

If he _was _a perv, he was by no means to know she lived in the tiny town of Forks.

The trip to Seattle would take her about four hours so she decided to meet him around noon. That way she'd be able to spend a couple of hours with him if he was the unknown boy of her dreams and she would still get to drive home before nightfall.

**ClaireDeLune96: would noon be okay?**

**Debussy95: sure! how will I know it's you?**

**ClaireDeLune96: Look out for brown hair and brown eyes, holding a copy of Wuthering Heights in her hands**

**Debussy95: Aaahh, your favourite!**

**ClaireDeLune96: yes. you remembered! :D what do I look out for?**

**Debussy95: brown hair (reddish in the sunlight) and green eyes holding a red rose for you?**

**ClaireDeLune96: o.k.! See you next saturday! I gotta go now...**

**Debussy95: yeah looking forward to Cing U saturday!**

**ClaireDeLune96: me too! good night!**

**Debussy95: U 2! sweet dreams!**

**ClaireDeLune96: u 2!**

**Debussy95: Wait, what's your name?**

He never got a reply to that one, though. Her profile stated she was already off.

And off she was.

That night Bella dreamt of the unknown boy for the first time. Her subconsciuos made up the most beautiful stranger for her. A lanky boy with reddish-brown hair and intense green eyes. By morning Bella was anxcious for Saturday to arrive.

Meanwhile in his Seattle home Edward couldn't believe his luck. The girl of his dreams finally wanted to meet him. Of course he didn't really know her but he knew enough to know that a girl with such a beautiful mind could never be ugly in his eyes.

The unknown girl had captured his body, mind and soul within days after they'd met online. Her witty comments, her sense of humor and her view of the little things in life had made him fall for her before he even knew what was happening to him.

This had to be fate!

Edward had never believed in stupid girly shit like fate and soulmates and all the other fuzzy stuff, but chatting with the unknown girl had changed his point of view. And if something like fate or destiny actually existed he knew that the unknown girl was part of his fate.

When Saturday finally arrived, Edward was sure to die of a heart attack right before noon. By the time he arrived at the Space Needle his heart was pounding in his chest as if it was trying to jump right out of his ribcage. He was half an hour early but didn't really mind the wait.

Clutching the red rose for the unknown girl tightly in his hand, he wanted to see her the moment she arrived.

When noon was near he started to look out for her.

It was an overcast and rainy day so there weren't many people coming to the monument.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

But the girl never came.

By the time the sun was about to set Edward left.

He just couldn't bring himself to leave before nightfall.

What if she was just late? What if he missed her by mere minutes?

But with the sinking sun his heart sank, too.

Had she changed her mind after all? But why didn't she tell him so the night before? He would've understood!

A wave of disappointment washed over him and he flung that stupid red rose to the ground.

That night he stayed off the chatroom. He didn't want to hear the girls faint excuses for standing him up. He'd waited for her all day long, standing in the rain like some moron. He felt so stupid.

So it was true after all, you couldn't trust people you met online. Especially not people who said they were girls his own age and showed some interest in him.

He spent the evening moping around in his room. He even reclined dinner only to feel starved later that night. Wanting cookies and hot chocolate and maybe a pint of icecream.

'God, I'm really turning into a pussy!' he thought angrily, grabbing said icecream, crumbling a load of cookies over the cold mush he jumped on the kitchen counter to eat in silence just as his father arrived from his late shift in the hospital.

"Hey, still up?" he asked.

"Well, I'm sitting here so... duh!" he nothing but growled at his dad.

But Carlisle Cullen remained his calm facade, though the obvious hostility of his son caught him off guard. He was a doctor after all.

"Ice cream and cookies?" he asked his son.

Edward nodded, shoving another spoonful into his mouth. The brainfreeze he felt right after made him groan. Carlisle chuckled but put his serious doctor-face back on when his son glared at him.

"Girl problems?" he asked then.

At first Edward considered giving him another snarky comment but his father wasn't to blame for the girl's actions.

So he just nodded yes.

"What's wrong?" his dad asked and although he wasn't to blame, Edward couldn't help his next reply.

"Well, apparently even blind dates stand me up and I'll probably die a virgin." he snapped but his dad wouldn't have that.

"You'll be alright Edward. Trust me! That girl doesn't know what she's missing. You'll find someone better than her." Edward stared at his father.

"I'll never find someone like her!" he nothing but yelled.

Though Carlisle knew to blame it on his teenage hormones, he wanted his son to lighten up and to think about how lucky he _really_ was.

"You know, I had a rough day at the hospital. There was this young girl. She was about your age."

Edward stared at his dad, wondering what this had to do with him and his "girl problems".

"Anyway, this girl was in a heavy car accident this morning. She fought for her life for hours. By nightfall we finally had her stabilized, but we had to put her in a coma because being awake would be too painfull for her at this moment. If she remains stable and her body heals well, she might be able to recover fully. But there's no way of saying what will happen. She might be alright but she might as well die tonight..."

The intense look his father gave him throughout his speech let Edward know he was trying to convey something essential to his son.

So he listened and listened good and by the time his dad had finished, he felt really stupid for whining and moping all evening over something as silly as a girl he didn't even know.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you dad." he tried to apologize but his father shrugged him off.

"It's alright son. Just try to keep focused on the important things in life and you won't feel so much disappointment over the little things."

Edward wanted to tell him that the unknown girl was indeed essential to him but he held back, knowing what _that_ would sound like.

His moping over a girl he had never even seen before and whose name he didn't know would not be approved of, so he remained silent.

As if his dad knew about his inner conflict he spoke again.

"_What is essential to the heart is invisible to the eye._"

Then he sighed, bid Edward good night and went to sleep.

Edward knew he had heard that one before but couldn't put his finger on _where_ he knew it from.

Shrugging it off, he grabbed his icecream and took it with him to his room.

Still disappointed.

No matter how hard he tried, the pang he felt in his chest wouldn't go away. His resolve to ignore the unknown girl and to never chat with her again lasted exactly a day and a half. By then he just wanted to know. Wanted to know why she hadn't shown up.

And he missed her...

He checked their chatroom every couple of hours but she never showed up. The more time passed by, the more worried he got. He sent her a couple of mails, asking if she was alright but she never answered. The unknown girl had never stayed away from their chatroom for longer that 48 hours. At least not without a warning.

Logging on didn't go fast enough for him whenever he tried. He typed in his username and password impatiently only to find that ClaireDeLune96 still hadn't been on since Friday night. Since the last time they had chatted.

Now what could that mean?

Edward pulled his hands through his hair and then gently massaged his temples. The dreadful headaches had started the exact time his nightmares had started to appear. The night he had stuffed himself with icecream. Those dreams were disturbing to say the least. A weird beeping sound that started to drive him nuts was always part of it. As were fluttering images of a computer screen, of a boy that resembled himself in a disturbing way, an old red Chevy truck, big brown eyes wide in shock, shards of glass scattered on dirty asphalt and blood.

Lots of blood.

He didn't know what this all meant and he could neither forget those images nor did he know where they came from all of a sudden. He tried to shrug it off but had a weird feeling creeping up in his guts again and again.

And he missed the unknown girl a.k.a. ClaireDeLune96.

He scrolled down on her profile page to find a clue, a hint, something that would tell him where she was or why she didn't answer his mails anymore. And all of a sudden there it was. His hint...

"_What is essential to the heart is invisible to the eye._"

There, on her profile.

She had told him once that she owned a medaillon with the exact same inscription. It had been a present from her Grandma and was about as close to a family heirloom as it would get.

He stared at the one line that had triggered a wild bunch of thoughts. It all fell into place the moment he found it.

"Dad!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Dad!"

It took his father less than thirty seconds to come rushing into his room. His eyes wide and searching. Looking for any signs of distress.

"Edward, what's wrong? Are you hurting? What is it Edward?"

"It's her dad! It must be her! I need to go see her! Which room is she in?" Edward yelled at his father who, for the very first time in Edwards life, looked totally dumbstruck.

"What? Who? What are you talking about?" he asked, confusion clearly written all over his face.

"The girl you told me about. The one who was injured in an accident and had to be put into a coma. You said she was fighting for her life..." and then it struck him.

Was she okay?

"H-how is she? I mean, is she... alive?" he asked, desperately. Hoping she was alright or at least going to be.

"Yes, she's stable and healing... but what...? Edward, I don't understand!"

His father was at a loss for words.

"It's her! The girl that didn't show up!" Edward explained but was interrupted by his dad.

"Edward, you cannot know that!" he asked.

"But I _do_ know!" Edward replied.

"Okay, then what is her name?"

His father wanted proof. But Edward couldn't give it.

"I don't know dad. All I know is she has brown hair and brown eyes and her online nickname is ClaireDeLune96!" His dad wanted to interrupt again but Edward wouldn't have that.

"Dad, did she wear a medaillon that said "_What is essential to the heart is invisible to the eye_"?"

Carlisle Cullen nodded, clearly surprised by his sons insider knowledge.

"Look dad, it's her profile. That quote is on there, too."

His dad looked at the unknown girls profile. He read intently and then faced Edward and said

"That Debussy guy, is that you?" Edward nodded.

"She talked about Debussy when she first hit the ER. She was slipping in and out of consciousness, so we didn't give it much thought..." Carlisle Cullen mused, slightly distracted by the unnerving coincidence he had just witnessed.

"Dad? I need to go see her!" Edward begged and it didn't take his father very long to give in. He simply nodded and motioned for Edward to get up and follow him.

Dr Carlisle Cullen, a compassionate, caring man and doctor, knew, he was doing something illegal when he drove his teenage son over to the hospital and pointed out the room the Swan girl was in.

But he couldn't help it.

He was not only compassionate but a complete and utter fool for love ever since he had met his own soulmate over twenty years ago. Back in the days when there was no internet to meet over, no cellphones to send messages all day, it was him and his future wife Esme who had encountered fate much the same way Edward now met his. At least Carlisle hoped he would, cause he wanted nothing more than seeing his only son just as happy as he was himself.

The following days Carlisle and Esme Cullen had a hard time sending their son to school. Edward couldn't and wouldn't understand that sitting through boring lessons was more important than being at Bellas side all waking hours.

To gain visitors access he had practically attacked Bellas father Charlie Swan as soon as he was in sight, the day after he'd discovered that his unknown girl lay unconsciously in her hospital bed.

Grumpily and with a brow raised in confusion, Charlie Swan had allowed Edward to visit his only daughter.

The frantic look on Edwards face, the sorrow evident in the teenage boys voice had told him to just let him sit by Bellas side. He'd figured it might even help his daughter to come around if she was in any way attached to the strange boy.

Edward used his newfound allowance to the point where Carlisle had to drag him out of the hospital every night. As a father he was worried about the mental state of his teenage son but as the fool for love he was, he knew and understood Edwards reluctance to leave Bellas side.

A couple of days later the doctors decided to wake Bella Swan out of her narcotic-induced sleep and Edward couldn't have been happier. It took his father almost an hour to convince his son not to get his hopes up too soon.

None of the medical staff of the clinic knew when -or _if_- Bella Swan would wake up. Her body was healing well but the effects of her accident might linger as well. The patient had suffered from a severe head injury, a trauma, and no one knew if she'd even remember any aspects of her old life.

Since Edward hadn't even known Bella in person to begin with, he just couldn't let his fathers statement dampen his mood. Every day he waited patiently for Bella to finally wake up, hoping she would be alright.

His Sleeping Beauty he called her but only when no one else could hear.

And that's why, when Bella Swan finally came around, the first person she saw was Edward Cullen.

Her eyes fluttered open and she stared into the most beautiful face and the most intense green eyes she had ever seen.

"Bella!" was all Edward managed to say and for a brief moment Bella wondered if she was supposed to know the beautiful boy who was sitting right beside her and holding her hand.

As she scrambled through her foggy memories she was sure she'd never met him before. And yet, he seemed strangely familiar.

As she threw another glance in his direction, it dawned on her...

"It's you!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Debussy, right?" she croaked, her voice hoarse from thirst.

Edward simply nodded, but as soon as realization really hit, a broad and yet crooked smile spread all over his face.

It was dazzling and Bella couldn't help but smile back.

"Hi." she whispered.

"Hi. I'm Edward." the boy replied with a goofy grin.

And while his heart was hammering in his chest and butterflies seemed to do loopings in his stomach, Bella couldn't take her eyes off him. She had a warm and fuzzy feeling inside of her and was pretty sure it had nothing to do with any medication that entered her body through the IV in her arm.

When Carlisle Cullen entered the room that night to drag his son home, the sight that greeted him stopped him dead in his tracks.

That was nothing he'd ever seen on anyone else before.

On no one but himself and his wife Esme.

It was then, that he realized that his wish might just have come true. There was so much love and adoration in the eyes of those two teenagers, that he silently closed the door to give them just a little more privacy.

That night he thanked heavens above for everything he had and everything he was still to encounter.

* * *

Alright, you managed to get right to the bottom. Yay for you! lol

I hope you enjoyed this innocent little story and if you did, just let me know!

I don' bite… hard!


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